The present invention generally relates to a coin changer for use in various kinds of coin handling apparatus such as automatic vending machines and money changing machines, and more particularly it relates to such a coin changer which transmits and receives a coin selection signal or other signal in the form of an optical signal and thereby can simplify the troublesome work necessary for coupling or decoupling signal transmitting and receiving systems of the coin changer.
Conventional coin changers generally comprises a coin acceptor section for identifying the authenticity and denomination of every coin deposited, and a change control section for receiving the identified coins separately for each denomination and controlling delivery or payment of change coins etc. In the some of the conventional coin changers, the coin acceptor section is separable from the change control section in order to facilitate or simplify cleaning of coin passages and coin identifying coils and also to provide enhanced efficiency of maintenance. Such type coin changers are known from, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,557.
In the known coin changers, the coin acceptor section has several functions such as: 1) a function to electronically identify the authenticity and denomination of every deposited coin by the use coin identifying coils etc. and then provide the change control section with a coin detection signal that is indicative of the identified denomination of the deposited coin; 2) a function to mechanically sort out every deposited coin on the basis of the identified denomination and direct the sorted-out coin toward predetermined one of coin receiving tubes that are provided for the respective denominations within the coin changer; and 3) a function to generate a signal indicative of the actuation of a return lever (cancellation signal) as well as a signal indicative of any abnormal condition of the coin acceptor section (acceptor-abnormal signal).
The change control section, on the other hand, has various functions such as: 1) a function to supply necessary electric power to the coin acceptor section; 2) a function to give the coin acceptor section a coin acceptance inhibiting signal; 3) a function to receive the coin detection signal from the coin acceptor section so as to count the total amount of the deposited coin(s) (i.e., deposited amount); 4) function to receive every coin sorted out by the coin acceptor section in predetermined one of the coin tubes or cash boxes provided for the respective denominations; 5) a function to deliver or pay out a necessary change coin(s) from the coin tube(s); 6) a function to return every deposited coin when the cancellation signal responsive to the actuation of the return lever has been received from the coin acceptor section; 7) a function to supply the main control section of the automatic vending machine with various kinds of signals such as a signal indicative of the deposited amount, the acceptor-abnormal signal, a signal indicative of the presence of an abnormal condition of the change control section itself, a signal indicative of the presence or absence of the change coins and other signals indicative of other conditions of the coin changer.
Therefore, with a coin changer which is capable of handling four denominations such as 500 Yen, 100 Yen, 50 Yen and 10 Yen, there are at least one kind of input signal (power supply input signal) and six kinds of output signals (four kinds of coin detection signals corresponding to four denominations, the cancellation signal and the acceptor-abnormal signal). Until now, transmission and reception, i.e., exchange of various signals between the coin acceptor section and the change control section has been done through electric wires, and thus it has been necessary to provide the same number of electric wires as the signals exchanged. To allow separable attachment between the two sections, arrangements are made such that the electric wires can be connected and disconnected via electric connectors.
However, because many electric wires are required for the signal exchange as mentioned above each connector must have many connection pins. In addition, because of an increasing demand for small-sized coin changers, each connector must be made small in size and hence must have many small connection pins densely mounted thereon. Such small-sized connectors present a problem that attachment/detachment of the coin acceptor section to/from the change control section is a very troublesome work.
Namely, with the coin acceptor section, the coin identifying coils and denomination sorting mechanism are components that perform the most important functions and occupy large space, leaving a minimum space for the connectors. Coupling/decoupling of the connectors in a narrow space involves extreme difficulty: for example, in the event an excessive force is applied to decouple the connectors provided in such a narrow space, the electric wire may be cut off or damaged. The use of the connectors may also present a problem that some connector is coupled with a wrong connector or inadvertently left uncoupled. The use of the connectors may present yet another problem that their contacts are stained, abraded or eroded, resulting in contact failure.
In addition, according to the disclosure of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,557, coin switches corresponding to the respective denominations are provided in the change control section, so as to reduce the number of signals exchanged between the coin acceptor section and the change control section so that the connector pins can be sufficiently large to facilitate decoupling of the connectors. However, because of the use of the electrical connectors, there still may arise the above-mentioned problem of contact failure due to abrasion or erosion. In addition, the provision of the coin switches in the change control section requires additional cost and space.